How Do You Spell MAWANGDUI?

Pronunciation: [mˈawɐŋdjˌuːi] (IPA)

"Mawangdui" is a romanization of the Mandarin Chinese characters 馬王堆. The first syllable "ma" is pronounced like "muh" with a low tone, meaning "horse." The second syllable "wang" is pronounced like "wahng" with a rising tone, meaning "king." The third syllable "dui" is pronounced like "dway" with a falling-rising tone, meaning "pile" or "heap." Therefore, "mawangdui" refers to the Ma-Wang-Dui archaeological site in Changsha, China, where a famous Han dynasty tomb was discovered.

MAWANGDUI Meaning and Definition

1. Mawangdui is a geographical location in China, located near the city of Changsha in Hunan province. The term "Mawangdui" translates to "Horse King Mound" in English. It refers to a site of significant archaeological discoveries that date back to the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE).

   The Mawangdui site consists of three burial mounds believed to belong to the ruling family of the Changsha Kingdom during the Western Han dynasty. Excavations at Mawangdui started in the 1970s and the tombs revealed a plethora of well-preserved artifacts and cultural relics, providing valuable insights into ancient Chinese history and civilization.

   The most remarkable discoveries at Mawangdui included three well-preserved female corpses, elaborate silk manuscripts, textiles, lacquerware, bamboo slips, calligraphy notebooks, and many other objects. These findings offered much knowledge about the social structure, customs, medical practices, artistic traditions, and religious beliefs of the Han dynasty.

   The Mawangdui tombs and their contents have become renowned both in China and internationally for their historical and cultural significance. Scholars from various fields, including archaeology, history, and linguistics, have studied the artifacts to gain a deeper understanding of the past. The discoveries at Mawangdui continue to contribute to the understanding of ancient Chinese civilization and remain an important archaeological site in China.

Etymology of MAWANGDUI

The word "Mawangdui" has its origins in the Chinese language. It is a compound word composed of three Chinese characters: "ma" (马), which means horse, "wang" (王), which means king, and "dui" (堆), which means pile or mound. Thus, "Mawangdui" can be translated as "Mound of the Horse King" or "Burial Pile of the Horse King".

"Mawangdui" refers to a famous archaeological site located in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province in central China. In 1972, three tomb complexes were discovered at Mawangdui, dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 9 CE).